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Psalm 143-145
Easy-to-Read Version
Psalm 143-145
Easy-to-Read Version
A praise song of David.
143 Lord, hear my prayer.
Listen to my call for help and answer my prayer.
Show me how good and loyal you are.
2 Don’t judge me, your servant.
No one alive could be judged innocent by your standards.
3 My enemies are chasing me.
They have crushed me into the dirt.
They are pushing me into the dark grave,
like people who died long ago.
4 I am ready to give up.
I am losing my courage.
5 But I remember what happened long ago.
I am thinking about all you have done.
I am talking about what you made with your hands!
6 I lift my hands in prayer to you.
I am waiting for your help, like a dry land waiting for rain. Selah
7 Hurry and answer me, Lord!
I have lost my courage.
Don’t turn away from me.
Don’t let me die and become like the people lying in the grave.
8 Show me your faithful love this morning.
I trust in you.
Show me what I should do.
I put my life in your hands!
9 Lord, I come to you for protection.
Save me from my enemies.
10 Show me what you want me to do.
You are my God.
Let your good Spirit lead me over level ground.
11 Lord, let me live
so that people will praise your name.
Show me how good you are
and save me from my trouble.
12 Show me your love
and defeat my enemies.
Destroy those who are trying to kill me
because I am your servant.
A song of David.
144 Praise the Lord!
He is my Rock.
He prepares me for war.
He trains me for battle.
2 He loves me and protects me.
He is my safe place high on the mountain.
He rescues me.
He is my shield.
I trust in him.
He helps me rule my people.
3 Lord, why are people important to you?
Why do you even notice us?
4 Our life is like a puff of air.
It is like a passing shadow.
5 Lord, tear open the skies and come down.
Touch the mountains, and smoke will rise from them.
6 Send the lightning and make my enemies run away.
Shoot your “arrows” and make them run away.
7 Reach down from heaven and save me!
Don’t let me drown in this sea of enemies.
Save me from these foreigners.
8 They are all liars,
even when they swear to tell the truth.
9 God, I will sing a new song[a] for you.
I will play a ten-stringed harp and sing praise to you.
10 You are the one who gives victory to kings.
You saved your servant David from the sword of his enemy.
11 Save me from these foreigners.
They are all liars,
even when they swear to tell the truth.
12 May our sons be as strong as trees
and our daughters as beautiful as the carved columns of a palace.
13 May our barns be filled
with crops of all kinds.
May our sheep produce so many lambs,
that thousands of sheep will fill our fields.
14 And may our cows be heavy with calves.
May no enemy break through our walls
or carry away any of our people.
May there be no cries of pain in our streets.
15 How wonderful to have such blessings!
Yes, great blessings belong to those who have the Lord as their God.
A song of David.
145 I will tell of your greatness, my God and King.
I will praise your name forever and ever.
2 I will praise you every day.
I will praise your name forever and ever.
3 The Lord is great and deserves all our praise!
No one can fully understand his greatness!
4 Each generation will praise you
and tell the next generation about the great things you do.
5 Your majesty and glory are wonderful.
I will tell about your miracles.
6 People will tell about the amazing things you do,
and I will tell everyone how great you are.
7 They will talk about your goodness
and sing about your justice.
8 The Lord is kind and merciful,
patient and full of love.
9 The Lord is good to everyone.
He shows his mercy to everything he made.
10 Lord, all you have made will give thanks to you.
Your loyal followers will praise you.
11 They will tell how great your kingdom is.
They will tell how great you are.
12 So others will learn about the mighty things you do,
about the glory of your kingdom—how marvelous it is!
13 Your kingdom will never end,
and you will rule forever.
The Lord can be trusted in all that he says.
He is loyal in all that he does.[b]
14 The Lord lifts up people who have fallen.
He helps those who are in trouble.
15 All living things look to you for their food,
and you give them their food at the right time.
16 You open your hands
and give every living thing all that it needs.
17 Everything the Lord does is good.
Everything he does shows how loyal he is.
18 The Lord is near to everyone
who sincerely calls to him for help.
19 He listens to his followers and does what they want.
He answers their prayers and saves them.
20 The Lord protects everyone who loves him,
but he destroys all who do evil.
21 I will praise the Lord!
Let everyone praise his holy name forever and ever!
Footnotes
- Psalm 144:9 new song Whenever God did a new and wonderful thing for his people, they would write a new song about it.
- Psalm 145:13 The Lord … he does This is found in the ancient Greek and Syriac versions and a Hebrew scroll from Qumran, but not in the standard Hebrew text.
Psalm 143-145
New International Version
Psalm 143-145
New International Version
Psalm 143
A psalm of David.
1 Lord, hear my prayer,(A)
listen to my cry for mercy;(B)
in your faithfulness(C) and righteousness(D)
come to my relief.
2 Do not bring your servant into judgment,
for no one living is righteous(E) before you.
3 The enemy pursues me,
he crushes me to the ground;
he makes me dwell in the darkness(F)
like those long dead.(G)
4 So my spirit grows faint within me;
my heart within me is dismayed.(H)
5 I remember(I) the days of long ago;
I meditate(J) on all your works
and consider what your hands have done.
6 I spread out my hands(K) to you;
I thirst for you like a parched land.[a]
7 Answer me quickly,(L) Lord;
my spirit fails.(M)
Do not hide your face(N) from me
or I will be like those who go down to the pit.
8 Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,(O)
for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way(P) I should go,
for to you I entrust my life.(Q)
9 Rescue me(R) from my enemies,(S) Lord,
for I hide myself in you.
10 Teach me(T) to do your will,
for you are my God;(U)
may your good Spirit
lead(V) me on level ground.(W)
11 For your name’s sake,(X) Lord, preserve my life;(Y)
in your righteousness,(Z) bring me out of trouble.
12 In your unfailing love, silence my enemies;(AA)
destroy all my foes,(AB)
for I am your servant.(AC)
Psalm 144
Of David.
1 Praise be to the Lord my Rock,(AD)
who trains my hands for war,
my fingers for battle.
2 He is my loving God and my fortress,(AE)
my stronghold(AF) and my deliverer,
my shield,(AG) in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoples[b](AH) under me.
3 Lord, what are human beings(AI) that you care for them,
mere mortals that you think of them?
4 They are like a breath;(AJ)
their days are like a fleeting shadow.(AK)
5 Part your heavens,(AL) Lord, and come down;(AM)
touch the mountains, so that they smoke.(AN)
6 Send forth lightning(AO) and scatter(AP) the enemy;
shoot your arrows(AQ) and rout them.
7 Reach down your hand from on high;(AR)
deliver me and rescue me(AS)
from the mighty waters,(AT)
from the hands of foreigners(AU)
8 whose mouths are full of lies,(AV)
whose right hands(AW) are deceitful.(AX)
9 I will sing a new song(AY) to you, my God;
on the ten-stringed lyre(AZ) I will make music to you,
10 to the One who gives victory to kings,(BA)
who delivers his servant David.(BB)
From the deadly sword(BC) 11 deliver me;
rescue me(BD) from the hands of foreigners(BE)
whose mouths are full of lies,(BF)
whose right hands are deceitful.(BG)
12 Then our sons in their youth
will be like well-nurtured plants,(BH)
and our daughters will be like pillars(BI)
carved to adorn a palace.
13 Our barns will be filled(BJ)
with every kind of provision.
Our sheep will increase by thousands,
by tens of thousands in our fields;
14 our oxen(BK) will draw heavy loads.[c]
There will be no breaching of walls,(BL)
no going into captivity,
no cry of distress in our streets.(BM)
15 Blessed is the people(BN) of whom this is true;
blessed is the people whose God is the Lord.
Psalm 145[d]
A psalm of praise. Of David.
1 I will exalt you,(BO) my God the King;(BP)
I will praise your name(BQ) for ever and ever.
2 Every day I will praise(BR) you
and extol your name(BS) for ever and ever.
3 Great(BT) is the Lord and most worthy of praise;(BU)
his greatness no one can fathom.(BV)
4 One generation(BW) commends your works to another;
they tell(BX) of your mighty acts.(BY)
5 They speak of the glorious splendor(BZ) of your majesty—
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.[e](CA)
6 They tell(CB) of the power of your awesome works—(CC)
and I will proclaim(CD) your great deeds.(CE)
7 They celebrate your abundant goodness(CF)
and joyfully sing(CG) of your righteousness.(CH)
9 The Lord is good(CK) to all;
he has compassion(CL) on all he has made.
10 All your works praise you,(CM) Lord;
your faithful people extol(CN) you.(CO)
11 They tell of the glory of your kingdom(CP)
and speak of your might,(CQ)
12 so that all people may know of your mighty acts(CR)
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.(CS)
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,(CT)
and your dominion endures through all generations.
The Lord is trustworthy(CU) in all he promises(CV)
and faithful in all he does.[f]
14 The Lord upholds(CW) all who fall
and lifts up all(CX) who are bowed down.(CY)
15 The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food(CZ) at the proper time.
16 You open your hand
and satisfy the desires(DA) of every living thing.
17 The Lord is righteous(DB) in all his ways
and faithful in all he does.(DC)
18 The Lord is near(DD) to all who call on him,(DE)
to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desires(DF) of those who fear him;(DG)
he hears their cry(DH) and saves them.(DI)
20 The Lord watches over(DJ) all who love him,(DK)
but all the wicked he will destroy.(DL)
Footnotes
- Psalm 143:6 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.
- Psalm 144:2 Many manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scrolls, Aquila, Jerome and Syriac; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text subdues my people
- Psalm 144:14 Or our chieftains will be firmly established
- Psalm 145:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, the verses of which (including verse 13b) begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
- Psalm 145:5 Dead Sea Scrolls and Syriac (see also Septuagint); Masoretic Text On the glorious splendor of your majesty / and on your wonderful works I will meditate
- Psalm 145:13 One manuscript of the Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scrolls and Syriac (see also Septuagint); most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text do not have the last two lines of verse 13.
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
New International Version (NIV) 
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